Nordea Investment Management AB Purchases 2,004 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,058 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,004 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned approximately 0.15% of Watts Water Technologies worth $10,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter worth $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $68,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 76.7% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 394 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 24.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 392 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $202.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.50.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 0.7 %

WTS stock opened at $201.57 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.55. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $175.37 and a one year high of $222.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $208.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $199.99. The company has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a PE ratio of 24.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.93.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total value of $331,318.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $941,463.60. The trade was a 26.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.20, for a total transaction of $4,415,882.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 176,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,356,749. The trade was a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Watts Water Technologies

Watts Water Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, supplies products and solutions that manage and conserve the flow of fluids and energy into, through, and out of buildings in the commercial, industrial, and residential markets in the Americas, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.